You Can Do All I Couldn't Do
by Tiggy the Hopeless Romantic
Summary: A year after Dorothy visited, Oz is thriving. The Banns have been lifted, the Animals are prospering and Glinda is at the heart of it. But what happens when ghosts of the past are no longer ghosts? When the "ghosts" need saving? Complete 07.29.08
1. Left Behind

OK, I have no idea what's gotten into me. Normally I wouldn't start a third chapter story with two in progress. However... it's summer and this story would not leave me alone. I have an almost three thousand word outline, so I have things very planned out.

This is also a little different than most of my normal stuff. It's a bit more Glinda centric, which I'm eager to write because I love getting in her head. Oh, it's post musical, which surprisingly I have never written a chapter story about.

This is un beta-ed, so any and all mistakes are mine. So I'll stop babbling, and you can go ahead and read. Tell me what you think!

* * *

"I'm going to do it," she insisted for the umpteenth time, her spell book strewn across her lap.

He fought the urge to roll his eyes, even though she meant well. "You aren't doing anything unless you get some sleep." He tugged the book out of her grasp.

"I'm not at all tired," she insisted, but it was ruined when she yawned.

"Honey, please. It's late. You should sleep." She stiffened at the 'you'. Fiyero wouldn't be sleeping. He hadn't slept in nearly a year, since her botched spell had turned him into the Scarecrow.

"But if I find a spell, maybe you can _sleep _with me." She hoped the suggestiveness would get him to leave her alone.

It didn't work. "But a Grimmerie spell caused this. You gave the Grimmerie to Glinda. And I thought you said spells can't be reversed."

She scowled at him. "Do you want me to change you back or not?"

"I do, it would be nice." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, settling down in the chair beside hers. "But I'm fine the way I am. And I don't want you to be upset because you can't find a spell." He smoothed her hair out of her face. "You saved my life, Fae. I much prefer this to the alternative."

She sagged against his shoulder, the straw making the cloth of his shirt stiff. "You wouldn't have been dying if you hadn't had to protect me."

"Stop it. No pity parties. What's in the past is in the past." He shifted. "Now will you please sleep? The books will still be there in the morning, and I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

She pouted a little, but yawned again. "Wake me up early, then," she said, knowing he was just going to let her oversleep anyway. He nodded, and she was asleep within seconds of her head hitting the pillow.

He watched her sleep for a minute, before tidying up the little kitchen. It had been a year After everything had been said and done, they had moved south, to the border between Quadling Country and the Badlands. Elphaba had been helping to set up a village for the Animals. It was a safe haven for them, and they had eagerly welcomed her into their society. They hadn't trusted _him_ at first. All they saw was the Scarecrow who had tried to hurt their Savior. Explaining the situation didn't help much when they realized he had been Captain of the Gale Force. In time they had deemed him trustworthy, mostly because Elphaba trusted him so completely.

Once she was confident that the Village was running smoothly, she had turned her attention on him. Specifically on returning him to his natural form. She had found old spell books that had been smuggled into the town. None were nearly as powerful as the Grimmerie, but she was convinced she was making progress and refused to give up.

He truthfully didn't care. She was safe. That was enough to make him happy. They were together, which thrilled him. He loved her. He was proud of her, too. The village was thriving, and it wouldn't have been if not for her.

She was curled up on the bed that took up most of the southeastern corner of their one room cottage. It was very neat and tidy, mostly the result of him having little to do while she slept, other than watch her, which was entertaining enough.

* * *

"It is my judgement that this citizen is guilty of crimes against his own species during the reign of the Wizard of Oz. He informed on others who were trying to flee for their own safety and will be sentenced incarceration in the national prison, Southstairs. Master Jarince, do you have anything to say for yourself before you are escorted below?"

"No, Lady Glinda," The Pig stared at the ground in front of him.

"Take him in," she said to the guards who escorted him below.

Glinda the Good was, in a word, beloved. She had started off slowly once the Wizard had made his exit, repealing the banns. Eventually, she had come out and said that she believed that the Animals had been treated unfairly, and would be re-granting them their rights as citizens. The transition had been very smooth, and now she was focusing on punishing those who hadn't gotten off easy in the time of the Wizard. She worked from dawn until dusk, and was often alone, but was confident she was doing what her best friend would have done.

* * *

However subserviant Jarince had behaved during his trial, the Pig was less than pleased at this turn of events. He was shown to his cell and slumped into the corner, content to stew until a voice from the next cell over stirred him. "Miss Galinda place another in her prison, did she?"

He looked up, and an old woman looked back at him. "Miss Galinda? You mean Lady Glinda the Good?"

"One and the same." It was Madame Morrible, who had been jailed for the past year. "It's customary for new inmates to inform us on the state of the world above."

"Little to say. I had been living in the Quadling when the Good summoned me. There's a new Animal Village, though I didn't live there. Glinda is seeing that extra funding is being sent there to make sure it starts off on the right foot. The Wizard would be horrified if he were here, but the Ozians could care less."

Morrible pursed her lips. "Really, a whole village of Animals? How... interesting," her voice became more of a sneer in the end.

"Not all Animals. I haven't told no one this, but it doesn't matter now. The Witch they thought they had killed? The Green one? She's alive and set up house there." He smirked. "Her and her Haystack. I don't know how it hasn't slipped out to Oz yet. They would pitch a fit if word got out that Miss Dorothy didn't actually complete her task. Though I guess Scarecrow isn't doing too bad for himself, as long as the green doesn't scare him off... either way, I doubt Lady Glinda knows anything of the Witch."

Morrible's eyes were wide. The green brat was still alive? Of all turns of events... This was one of the best possible for her. She knew Elphaba was the key to getting under Glinda's skin. And she knew the only way she would make it out of Southstairs was to rattle Glinda enough so that she missed a step in ruling Oz.

So she began a spell, simple but potent...


	2. The Past Is Another Land

_Hello. Here's chapter two, before I try to get on a semi regular updating schedule involving all of my stories... Oh! Keep in mind that this is completely musicalverse. I can clearly remember Dillamond saying he wasn't married in the book, but this worked better for the plot._

* * *

"Mrs. Dillamond?" Fiyero hesitated in the doorway as he watched his former professor's wife examine Elphaba. Doctor Dillamond was slowly recovering his ability to speak and his family had been located and moved to the Village. Valia Dillamond had been serving as the town's nurse ever since then. "Can you tell what's wrong?"

Valia looked up at him. "She has a high fever." She took a few steps closer to him and frowned. "How has she been for the past few days?"

"Fine. She's been staying up late, but that's not unusual for her. Do you think she might have overworked herself and this is just her body's way of telling her to slow down?" He was hopeful; if that was all it was, surely she would be better after she got some rest.

"I'm afraid I don't think so," she said sadly, looking down. "You said she was complaining of fatigue and aches?"

"Maybe a flu?"

"Maybe." There was an unspoken _'but I doubt it'_ in the air.

He was getting frustrated. "Mrs. Dillamond, how come I feel like you're not telling me something?"

She sighed. "Fiyero, I'm not a doctor. I don't have any real medical training. I do what I can in our village, but that isn't always much. Miss Elphaba is a strong woman, and it's startling to hear of this. You say she was perfectly fine before she fell asleep last night. She's been eating well and has had energy. I'm not familiar with anything that can cause her to get so sick so quickly. I'm also not an expert on human diseases."

He was pacing a little, unable to hold still. "Do you think she's going to be alright?"

She reached for him with a hoof, lightly touching his cloth arm; he didn't really feel it. Touch was mostly a mental thing to him, now. He was aware he _should_ feel her, and so his mind decided he did. "I don't know, my dear. Whatever this is, it's pretty bad. Whatever you do, keep her in bed. I don't think she can stand on her own two feet."

He groaned, "She's going to hate that."

"I don't think she'll have the energy to complain very much... Listen Fiyero, I really do need to get going. The minute something changes, I want you to send for me."

"Of course, Ma'am." He nodded to her, politely and watched her walk out the door.

He crossed the room to simply stand over the bed. Her breath came in gasps, and she seemed incapable of filling her lungs with enough oxygen. Her color was off, far too pale. Sweat beaded on her skin, an after effect of the high fever she was running. Her eyelashes fluttered, sensing him beside her. "Yero?" She reached for him.

He'd thought she was asleep. "Mhmm?" He sat down beside her on the bed.

"Just... wanting to make sure you're still here."

He pressed the burlap that was now his lips against her forehead. "Where would I go without you? My whole world is in this room."

"That's an awfully small world. And what will happen to you when your world no longer exists?" It hurt to listen to her. She had to gasp between phrases in order to breathe.

"When my world ceases to exist, so will I. I am nothing without you, Fae," he said the words plainly, but they were the truth. He couldn't imagine having a life without his world.

"No. Fiyero, don't. I'm going to die. I understand that. I accept that. I came to terms with that a long time ago. I didn't think it would be this soon." She paused here, a little sadly. "But I don't want you to give up once I'm gone."

He knew better than to argue with her about what he would do when her time came. It would just upset her. "Stop it. You aren't dying, at least not yet. Don't give up on me yet. You survived the Wizard and the Witch Hunters and you're going to let a simple illness get the better of you?"

"The Wizard was a humbug and the Witch Hunters... or at least a certain Witch Hunter, hardly wanted to harm me. Please don't be upset."

"You are not dying Elphaba, not now, at least. I haven't given up on you yet. I'm going to do whatever I can to get you through this. Are you going to give up on me?"

She felt tired again, and clearly thought that this was pointless. All the same, she said, "I think it'll do little good. But if you think there's hope I won't give up."

"Good," he said, much calmer than he felt.

He knew things were bad. If they stayed in the Village, there was nothing anyone could do for her. She might not ever recover. She might die quickly. If they left the Village, the two of them were easily identifiable. If they were captured, and if she didn't naturally die, she would be killed and he would be destroyed.

So which was it? Try to stay safe, but ultimately give up? Or run the risk of being captured, and still not guarantee a cure?

Unless... _No_. He couldn't. He shouldn't... he had decided they couldn't a long time ago. Instructed her not to. She would be furious with him after she found out... still, it was the only way.

He sent the message through one of the Birds, instructing them not to stop for anything.

_Lady Glinda,_

_There's no easy way to write this letter. You are about to become very upset and very angry. I know this, but I have to tell you anyway. Not so long ago, Oz changed. A young girl came to Oz, killed the Wicked Witch of the West, and eventually you took power. While this seems to have done a whole world of good, there are a few problems with that story._

_For starters, the Wicked Witch of the West was not so Wicked. Her name was Elphaba Thropp and she was your best friend. And another thing, she has not died. At least not yet._

_Glinda, I have no easy way to say this. It's me, it's Fiyero. I'm not dead either. Before the Witch Hunters came for her, Elphaba cast a spell to save my life. I'm the Scarecrow. Yes, that Scarecrow. I was able to make Dorothy think the water had killed Elphaba. But it didn't. She was fine. We ran off to the Animal Reservation, which I know you've heard of. You just probably haven't heard that we are living there._

_I never meant to tell you. I always thought it was far too dangerous to tell you. You wouldn't be safe, it would upset you, you would accidently do something that exposed us. I'd never seen Elphaba so upset than when I told her we could never see you again._

_I know this is a huge shock, and I know what I'm saying hurts. We didn't want to lie to you, but it was the only way. But now things have changed._

_Glinda, Elphaba is dying. For real this time. She's very, very sick, and no one has any idea what could've caused it. It was all very sudden. I wanted to write to you, in the hope that somehow maybe you could help her. At least see if you have any idea what could've cause this. I know, if nothing else, seeing you would make her very happy._

_Please come quickly._

_-Fiyero_


	3. Life Support

Can I just say you all rock? 12 reviews for two chapters? I love you all! Now... can you keep it up? If you can, I'll try to keep updating as fast as I am. Well, even if you don't review as much, I'll probably still quickly update, but reviews are a wonfderful incentive.

* * *

Glinda's hands shook as she held the piece of paper. She'd read it at least six times and her tears had caused the ink to run. She was glad her door was locked. She could hear servants on the other side, trying to get her to come out. There was no way she could allow them to see her like this.

She ran her fingers across the paper. It was real; she recognized Fiyero's messy handwriting. Some ink had been spilled in his haste to get the words on paper. It was like he knew he didn't have much time...

Time. How much time had it taken for the Bird to reach her? How long would it take her to reach them?

Elphaba was alive. She had not died in that cold castle at the hands of the little girl. She had not died within arm's reach of her own best friend. Glinda had merely witnessed an elaborate plan. Elphaba had been able to run off with the man she loved, the man Glinda had loved. Albeit he was not the same as he had once been.

She had gotten to be happy for a time, when Glinda hadn't. She'd gotten to see the fruits of her labors. She could see many, many safe Animals, thriving. She was safe. She had gotten a year of happiness when Glinda had cleaned up the mess she had left in her wake. Glinda had been the one to safeguard Elphaba's work. She had removed the banns. She had punished the ones the Wizard would have rewarded, all the while keeping Oz's citizens from realizing she was changing all of the policies the Wizard had held dear.

Time. Elphaba clearly didn't have much. Fiyero hadn't dated the letter. It could've been a few days, or weeks. Elphaba could already be dead, and for real this time.

She had to go now.

Letting herself have one last sob, she wiped her eyes dry. She folded up the letter and tucked it into her dress. She grabbed the Grimmerie off of the table beside her bed. She glanced into a mirror, and when she was satisfied with her appearance, she opened the door. Several of her servants stood there, clearly surprised at seeing their ruler fairly composed. "Well? There's no show here. Off to your jobs."

"Yes, Lady Glinda," the three of them chorused.

She walked down the corridor, down to the stables. Her private driver, a young man named Cadyrn stood beside one of her carriages, polishing it. Wonderful.

"Master Cadyrn?"

He spun around to see her. "Lady Glinda," he gave a little bow at seeing her approach. "How may I help you?"

"How quickly can you prepare a carriage without anyone noticing?"

"I'm ready to go as soon as you give the word, milady."

She smiled. "Good." She stepped closer to the carriage's door. "Now."

* * *

It wasn't a long ride. Elphaba and Fiyero were living surprisingly close to central Oz. Really, that was the best place to hide; in plain site. No one would think to look for people in the Village. Glinda arrived just after nightfall.

The Village was clearly winding down. Animals could be seen walking home. An older female Goat beemed she saw the carriage approach and ran up to them. "Lady Glinda?"

Glinda smiled as Cadyrn helped her down. "Hello there,"

"You're here for Miss Elphaba." Glinda nodded, "Right this way. Fiyero will be pleased you got here."

"What's your name, my dear?" Glinda asked as she hurried to keep up. Her dress kept getting in her way. Cade seemed to have no issue moving.

"My apologies. I should've introduced myself first. Valia Dillamond."

Glinda gasped. "Dillamond?"

"Yes, that Dillamond. My husband. He's still recovering. Elphaba still has hope for him, and he's doing so much better. Ahh! Here we are." They stood in front of a cottage at the end of the little unpaved street. Valia knocked on the door. "Fiyero, Lady Glinda's here."

The door swung open before Valia even finished her sentence. Glinda gasped again. A slightly haggard version of the Scarecrow stood there. Fiyero, this was Fiyero, her former fiance. The man she would have married in another life. Elphaba's Fiyero. "Glinda!" He hugged her before adding, "Come in, come in." His eyes narrowed as much as his painted face would allow. "And you are?"

"Cadyrn Bearwellows."

"He's my driver," Glinda spoke up. "Driving here was much less noticeably than by bubble. I assumed you wouldn't want anyone to know I came, but it would be impossible to come completely alone."

Fiyero nodded, but he didn't relax. "Fair enough." He shook his head and his previous happiness returned. "C'mon. Elphaba'll be glad to see you. She's missed you so much in this past year."

Glinda eagerly followed him to the bed at the other corner of the room. Her breath caught in her throat. There was Elphaba, her Elphaba. She was far too thin, and frail looking. Her lips were dry and cracked, and her skin had a grayish tinge. It _hurt_to look at her. So weak and fragile, where the Elphaba of her memory had been so strong.

"Fae? Someone's here to see you." Fiyero sat down on the bed, lightly pulling Elphaba up so her head rested in his lap.

"Who.. who is it?" Her voice was little more than a whisper, but that whisper was all it took to set Glinda off in crying lightly.

"Elphie? Elphie, it's me. It's Glinda."

At this Elphaba tried to sit up, but did it far too quickly and got herself dizzy. "Glinda!"

"It's me, it's me. Hush," She knelt down beside the bed, taking one too thin hand in hers.

"I can't believe you're really here." Elphaba settled back to lean against Fiyero's chest. "I thought I would never see you again."

"Well I'm here, now, that's all that matters. That and getting you well again." She stood up again, and wrapped her arms around Elphaba. She could tell her friend's fever was very high. She lightly kissed her friend's forehead before saying, "And you should go back to sleep."

Elphaba groaned. "All I ever do is sleep."

Fiyero chuckled, gently sliding from beneath her and wrapping the blanket back around her. "So a little more sleep won't hurt." He kissed her cheek before turning to Glinda. "Let's discuss this outside." He sent Cadyrn a look, clear in it's meaning. Fiyero had no intentions to leave him alone with Elphaba. "Mrs. Dillamond, can you stay with her while we chat?"

"Of course, Fiyero."

Once they were outside, he groaned, the false cheerfulness gone. "You can see why I sent for you."

Glinda nodded and went to sit on the swing attached to the tree outside Fiyero and Elphaba's home. Cade stood near her, dutifully acting as her guard. "You should've sent for me sooner."

"I sent for you as soon as she was sick."

"I don't mean that. I mean you should've sent for me a year ago instead of letting me think my best friend was dead!"

He groaned. "Glinda please! I was scared enough sending for you now! If someone finds out she's alive they'll make sure they kill her this time!"

Glinda was hurt. "You were going to let me go one believing I watched her die. You were going to let me believe you were dead, too!"

"There was no other choice!"

She was out of the swing, and shoved him. It didn't hurt; he didn't feel anything. "Fiyero I can't believe you. Run off with her and let me think you were dead! If Nessarose had never... never died... were the two of you ever going to come back?"

He opened his mouth, unsure of what he would say even as he said it. "We were going to stay in Kiamo Ko, my family's other castle. We were going to live there, maybe even have a family out there. That will never happen now, especially not if she dies."

"The little home with two kids and a dog is never going to happen for me either, Fiyero. There's too much baggage involved."

"Glinda, please. I know you're angry. You have a right to be. But I don't want to fight with you about the past. Please, please say you'll either help me save her, or at least help me comfort her until she goes."

She softened. "Of course I will. No matter how angry I am, I'm not going to let her die again without doing anything about it."


	4. If I Didn't Believe In You

Glinda was uneasy. She could hardly sleep and had run from the little inn in the village to Fiyero and Elphaba's cottage as soon as dawn came. "Fiyero? Any change?"

Fiyero simply stared at her. It was barely six AM, but Glinda already had every hair in place. "No, Glinda. No change in the seven hours since you left. She's been asleep."

"Oh. Sorry." Glinda looked down, digging her shoe into the ground. "Do you want me to leave and come back later?"

He chuckled. "Glinda, later for you would only be in twenty minutes. Feel free to stay here. I need to talk to Valia anyway, and it's nice to not leave her alone. Feel free to get yourself something to eat. Foods in the pantry."

He left her there, and she poked around the little house. It felt... homey. Much more comfortable than the palace. It was small though, with no real divisions between the kitchen, the sitting room, and the bedroom. She ran her hand over the books on the shelf when she heard a voice behind her. "Fiyero? Oh, Glinda,"

"Don't sound so disapointed, my pretty."

She laughed, "That's my line." She propped herself up on the pillow behind her back. "Could you get me a glass of water?"

"Sure thing," When Glinda returned with the glass, she grinned to herself. "I'm a fool."

Elphaba raised her eyebrow, looking something like her old self. "While I'm not one to disagree with you, what brought on this revelation?"

"I can't believe I actually thought water could melt you. That is so ridiculous!"

"It was Fiyero's idea. So crazy it had to work," She coughed here and the light moment vanished.

Glinda scowled, touching Elphaba's forehead. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"What're you going to do? Put a bubble around me?"

She smiled. "Yes, lock you in a big pink bubble. Use magic to.. Oh!" She cut herself off, shocked.

"Use magic to what?" Elphaba asked, pulling her blanket back around herself.

But Glinda was hardly paying attention. She had ran over to the bookshelf again, and was throwing Elphaba's magic books off the shelves. "Magic! Of course!"

"What?"

Glinda ran back to the bed. "This happened suddenly and your symptoms haven't changed at all. Elphie, don't you realize what that sounds like? Someone put a curse on you!"

"I fail to see how that's such a good thing." She rolled her eyes.

Glinda wasn't daunted. "If it's a curse you won't get any sicker than you are now. You aren't dying! And if the spell is reversed... oh."

Elphaba's voice was gentle. "Spells can't be reversed. And even if we override the spell, well, we'd have to be strong enough to do it. I'm too sick. Unless you thing you could...?"

Glinda put her hands up. "No, no. I'm nowhere near as talented as you are." She looked somber. But I have an idea." She hugged her friend and ran off.

* * *

"OK, explain it to me again. What exactly makes you think Madame Morrible will be willing to do anything to help Elphaba? What do you plan on saying? 'Hello, Madame. I had you imprisoned, and you are using my best friend(who you're supposed to think died a year ago) to get back at me. Could you, you know, undo your spell(even though I have no proof you cast a spell), because I'm asking so nicely?'" Fiyero was more than annoyed at being completely helpless at saving the woman he loved, and that anger was being taken out on Glinda.

Glinda had explained the situation to a skeptical Fiyero. The way she saw it, Morrible was the only Witch strong enough to hurt Elphaba. "Exactly. Except you're missing one key thing. If she doesn't do it, I'll kill her." Glinda said calmly. Fiyero's eyes widened. He'd never thought Glinda capable of even thinking of killing someone.

"Glinda..."

"Don't say it. I'll do it. If I'd... handled things properly in the first place, Morrible never would've been able to cast a spell on Elphaba. Even if I can't help Elphaba, I can make sure Morrible never has the oppourtunity to do this to anyone else."

"And if she does help?"

Glinda scowled. Morrible helping was so doubtful, she hadn't thought of another option. "I'm throwing her back in her cell, but first I'll put a spell on the cell that will cancel out her magic."

He nodded. "I'll head out in the morning. Get some of the Animals to come with me. Is she being held in one of the Prisoner of War cells?" He could remember Southstairs layout from his time in the Gale Force... it wasn't something he liked to dwell on.

"No, but it doesn't matter. I know where she is. I can show you."

He frowned. "What? No, you're staying here. I won't be able to do this if the whole time I'm worried about having to get you out of some mess. Elphaba won't forgive me if something happens to you."

"I won't forgive me if you can't find the cell and Elphaba passes on before you get back."

His eyes flared. "You said before that if magic made her sick she wouldn't actually die!"

Glinda held her hands up. "I think the illness was caused by magic. I really do. And if magic is making her sick, then she won't die unless the spell caster changes the spell. But if this is some random disease that just looks like a magical illness, well, who's saying if she'll make it? This needs to be fast, just in case."

"You should just tell me where Morrible's cell is. I know my way around Southstairs."

"No you don't," she insisted, "I had it remodeled, more cells put in. It's different now. So you need me. We'll go alone."

"The Animals!"

She shook her head. "No one even knows I'm gone, and we'd best go under the radar. There's no way to make an army of Animals look normal. If it's just us, it'll just look like Glinda the Good Witch and her old friend the Scarecrow, out for a stroll."

A thought struck him. "Fine, but he's coming with us." Fiyero was pointing to Cadyrn. "I'm not leaving him here with Elphaba."

"You don't trust him?" She rolled her eyes when he nodded. "Then why would you want him getting in our way?"

"Because I'd rather have him where I can see him, and not here with Elphaba." He crossed his arms, not budging on that stand. "We'll leave in the morning."

This was the part he wasn't looking forward to. Valia had promised him that that she would keep a close eye on Elphaba, but he still hated the idea of leaving her. He even more hated the idea of telling her he would be leaving the safety of the camp.

"Fae?" He sat on the edge of her bed.

"Hmm?"

He shifted to lay beside her, pulling her into his arms. "Glinda has a pretty hair brained idea. But I think it's our only shot at..."

"Saving me," she supplied.

"Yeah. Yeah, saving you." He ran a hand over her hair. It stuck to her sweaty forehead. "We won't be gone long. Just a few days. You'll hardly miss me."

"I always miss you. When you're not here.."

"Stop or I won't be able to leave, and your health will be at the mercy of a blonde who's favorite hobby is shopping."

"Glinda means well," she said, and he felt bad.

"I know. When I was dating her, she was the brains of the relationship."

Elphaba grinned. "That isn't hard, love." She grew serious. "Yero, if I don't make it out of this..."

"No! Fae, stop thinking like that. You'll be fine!"

She touched the burlap of his face. "I wish I could've turned you back. I wish we could've been together, normally."

"Fae stop. We have forever. You will be fine. Quit talking like this."

"I don't want you to just give up." She hesitated. "When I die, I don't want you to give up. I want you to live."

"Fae-"

"Hush. Love you, Fiyero. Just remember what I said."

"I love you too, Fae." He held her tighter, knowing that if things did not end well for her... He shook his head, deciding not to think about that option. He stroked her hair while she slept against his chest, hoping what he said about forever would be true.


	5. Someone Else's Story

Sorry, this chapter is shorter than the others. If anyone cares, I posted a new story on fictionpress. It's here:

fictionpressdotcomslashsslash2527510slash1slashYouunderscoreAndunderscoreI

* * *

Fiyero was ready to leave very early, in the firm belief that that the early they left, the early they would be home, and he would be back to Elphaba. Unfortunately, the other two members of the party still required sleep, and he had to wait, at least until the sun was up.

"I don't think we should take the carriage," he said.

Glinda frowned. "Why not? It's faster."

"Weren't you the one who said we should be inconspicuous? We'll go be foot. Attract less attention that way."

She rolled her eyes. "Easy for you to say, Mr. Scarecrow. Unlike you, the rest of us get tired."

"You don't think I wished I could get tired? Glinda, really, at this point, I'd be glad to feel anything. All Elphaba wanted was to turn me back. She feels horrible about what happened to me. Blames herself. This isn't all it's cracked up to be," he snapped at her, but he instantly felt guilty. Glinda hadn't done anything wrong. But stress was building up, and he was irritable. "Sorry about that. Listen, why don't you wear one of Elphie's dresses? Your gown would be ruined by a walk in the woods." He walked over to the wardrobe and pulled out a simple, black dress. "It shouldn't be too horribly big on you. Just a little long."

She took the black dress and changed. He was right. She didn't look like a little girl in clothes much too mature for her; that was how she thought she would feel. It was plain other than a little black lace around the collar, very Elphaba. She'd grown up quite a bit. She wasn't just a silly schoolgirl anymore. Funny, that was a bit of a realization for the ruler of Oz.

* * *

And so the three of them set out. Fiyero was quickly bored; he was too familiar with the woods to be distracted by them. Instead he watched his two companians. Glinda was lost in thought, stewing about something or other. She was still graceful, even if she wasn't paying attention. She didn't miss a step.

Cadyrn was another story. He was clearly uncomfortable, and Fiyero didn't really blame him. No doubt he'd been roped into this mission without much choice. He clearly knew little of the Wizard's more unsavory policies. Fiyero felt bad for him. Cade wasn't Elphaba's love or best friend, and had doubtlessly been taught to fear the Wicked Witch of the West. For him to be so accepting of the fact that she was not only alive, but good, and in need of help was nothing short of a miracle. He was quiet and a bit melancholy, but not unpleasant to be around.

Still, it was easy to see he was mesmerized by Glinda. At first Fiyero had thought it was simply the fact that he was her servant. It would be habit that he would tend to her needs. Which he did. But that didn't explain the mild flirting.

Fiyero could see the signs. "Cade", as he preferred to be called, was overly gallant. When they passed through a patch of woods where the path was rough, he offered her his arm to steady herself. Of course, she ignored him and he tripped over his own two feet. Fiyero had to work to stifle his laughter.

He didn't like to admit it, but it was late. Glinda'd barely spoken all day, but her pace had slowed. His time with Dorothy had taught him that rest was neccesary. "Let's stop for the night. This clearing seems safe enough."

"Alright," Glinda agreed, daintily brushing off a fallen tree, sitting on it once she was satisfied it wasn't filthy.

"Here, Lady Glinda, I grabbed an extra blanket in the village." Cade said, clearly pleased he was of use. He rummadged through his pack until he produced a blanket, spreading it at her feet.

"Umm, thank you," she said, settling down onto it, any greater meaning of the gesture lost on her.


	6. Who Needs A Dream?

Even shorter and suckier than before. Oh well. I needed to write some Glinda.

* * *

Glinda knew she wasn't much of a travel companion. She just couldn't get herself to stop thinking. She knew this had to be partially her fault. Assuming she was correct, and Morrible had been the one to cast the spell on Elphaba, it was definitely her fault. She had told herself Oz would be safe as long as she kept Morrible locked up. The fact that Morrible was a strong witch didn't even cross her mind.

And now Elphaba was horribly sick. If Glinda hadn't been so... soft, then maybe none of this would've happened.

Part of her said, _If she never got sick, Fiyero never would have sent for you. You would've gone your whole life thinking she was dead and you did nothing to save her.. At least now you have the opportunity to do something about it. _She knew she couldn't watch Elphaba die again. If Morrible intensified the curse, Elphaba would quickly die. There was no doubt in her mind that that was what would happen.

A horrible thought stuck her. If Morrible didn't reverse the spell, Elphaba would be stuck in that horrible limbo, hovering between life and death. Eventually it would become too much for her body to bare and she would die. But it would be a horrible, slow, painful death. Glinda wouldn't tolerate that. She hated seeing Elphaba so weak.

Elphaba was supposed to be the strong one. Glinda was the weak one. Elphaba was the one who had always taken care of her. It was frightening for it to be the other way around. Elphaba was the sister she never had. She'd always known to do the right thing. She was never afraid.

Glinda was terrified.

She looked around their makeshift camp. It was their second night in the forest. Fiyero was sure they would arrive in two more days. Cade was asleep, and she was supposed to be, too. Fiyero was sitting with his back to them, leaning away from the fire.

He was so different than he had been before. Or maybe not, she thought sadly. This was the real him. The superficial party boy had been a facade. Elphaba had known that. Now Glinda could see it too.

It was obvious Elphaba was really the only thing he cared about. When she had watched them it was like she was his sun. He gravitated around her. He moved in relation to her. It hurt to see him without her. When he spoke of her, especially the good times, before she was sick his face lit up.

Part of her wondered if he had ever loved her like that. She knew he didn't now... but when they were young, before everything was so complicated. Did he love her that much? Before Elphaba left and had done the right thing, had she been his sun? Had he loved her that much?

It hurt to think about it. They had almost gotten married. Would he have ever been happy? He had asked if it would've made her happy, if it was what she would've wanted. She had said yes. That had sounded right. She was beautiful, he was charming. She had loved him. She was sure of that, or she thought she was.

Finally, dawn was breaking. She pretended to suddenly wake up, stretching. Fiyero looked up at her. "Hey, Glinda. Morning."

"Good morning." She sat up, leaning over to give Cade a shake. "Cade, wake up."

He blinked but smiled. "I'm up."

"Good," Fiyero said, getting up. They spent another day mostly silent, all three of them lost in thought.


	7. Here I Am!

New chapter! Which I like much more than the last couple... Anyway, I hope you like it. If you've been reading my story Misconceptions, I finished it today. So take a look, if you haven't yet. Don't forget to read and review!

* * *

The woods were very simple. There was a pretty nice path, and Fiyero and Cade both quickly began to recognize the land outside Glinda's castle. They would reach the palace by dawn if they didn't stop to rest. Fiyero would've blushed if he could- it was the same woods where he and Elphaba had consummated their relationship. Luckily, no one else knew that.

It was just out of the City when they crossed paths with someone who they hadn't been expecting: the one and only Cowardly Lion. He was curled up, asleep in a little meadow, a sight that made Cade snicker and Glinda make that horrible, "aww" sound that all females, including Elphaba were capable of. He was planning on not waking the Lion, but the sound Glinda made roused him.

The Lion blinked a few times, trying to seem fierce. When he realized he recognized most of the traveling party, he relaxed. "Scarecrow, Lady Glinda! I... I was just resting my eyes." He was up quickly, bowing before Glinda's feet. "My pleasure to see you, your Majesty. Are you enjoying your stay in my forest?"

"It's..." a bug flew through her range of vision, and she squeeled. "It's perfectly beautiful, Lion. Thank you for your kind welcome."

He straightened, but bowed again. "Milady, what are you doing out with only two companions? No servants, guards? I could easily get you an escort to safety."

She frowned, not particularly wanting to share that information. She decided to try some of the truth. "Nothing to worry about, my dear," she explained, lightly fluffing the Lion's mane as if he were a house Cat. "A particularly strong Witch has just caused some trouble for a friend of mine... a very good friend of the Scarecrow's, actually." She paused to smile at him mischievously.

"A Mrs. Scarecrow?"

All eyes turned to Fiyero. "If I had my way," he muttered.

Glinda continued on. "We are simply going to have a... a conversation with her, and get her to kindly stop using her cruel spells."

"A b-bad W-w-witch?" the Lion stuttored. "You mean like the one... the Witch of the West?"

"No!" Polite manners and common sense were gone, but only for an instance. Morrible and Elphaba couldn't be compared. Morrible wasn't worthy of being spoken of in the same sentence as Elphie. "I mean, she is quite a different kind of Witch, not like the late Witch of the West. We'll deal with her, but we'd be better off sneaking up on her. That's why there are so few guards, just my good friends." Fiyero chuckled at seeing Cade perk up at being referred to as a 'good friend'.

The Lion bowed, yet again. "Lady Glinda, your Lovliness, I would be honored to accompany you to your destination."

Fiyero and Glinda exchanged a rather horrified look. Neither of them wanted the simple Lion to be harmed in the crossfire, and knew they wouldn't be able to deal with his fears. Fiyero stepped forward and addressed the Lion. "That would be wonderful, my friend. I'm sure you would be a big help... Gee, I really appreciate it. We could really use your help. Y'see, this Witch is a lot worse than the last one. Much more Wicked. And less compassionate. Miss Dorothy told me that she secretly never thought the Witch would really harm her." That was true; Dorothy had told him that not long before she left Oz. He'd wanted to tell her the whole truth right then and there, but knew it would be far too much for the little girl to handle. "But this Witch... no, she's definitely worse than before." Glinda smirked, amused by the good-country-boy act Fiyero put on. Had he kept that up the whole time he traveled with Dorothy?

The Lion looked down. "Y'know, Scarecrow, maybe I should keep an eye on my forest. Keep everyone safe. Unless you think you'd need my help."

_Bingo! _"I suppose we would have to get on without you. You're right. The forest needs protecting." Fiyero looked to Cade and Glinda. "As much as I hate to say it, we should be going."

"Wait!"

"Yes, Sir Lion?" Glinda regally asked.

"The Tinman has been living near here. I'm sure he'd love to help you all."

"Perhaps we will meet up with him," said Fiyero, with a broad smile. Once they were far enough away, he added to Glinda, "Maybe we should meet up with the Tinman."

"Why? Why should we bring someone else new into this? Someone who helped lead the Witch Hunts?"

"Technically, I was there, too. Besides, you brought Cade in... but you see, he wouldn't really be someone new... Back before... Tinman used to be a man, like I was... and we know him."

"Who?" Glinda's blue eyes were like saucers.

"Boq."

She blinked. "Who?"

He rolled his eyes. "Biq? Nessarose's boyfriend who was 'secretly' in love with you."

Realization dawned. "What?! That sweet boy.. what happened? Elphaba?"

"He and Nessa were arguing." He chuckled though nothing was particularly funny. "He wanted to leave her, so he could steal you away from _me_. She cast a spell on him, but it messed up. She caused him to lose his heart. Luckily, Elphaba was able to use her spell to save his life. Although he hasn't forgiven her, maybe if he sees that we are both on her side- more specifically that you are on his side- he will see our reason, and help us."

She frowned. "If you're so very sure..." She couldn't get the idea of her Munchkin suiter out of her head... That was horrible!

"I'm sure. He'd do anything for you."


	8. My Friends

Sorry this took so long, but here it is, Boq's arrival. I hope you like it, and as always: please review!

* * *

Really, it was almost inevitable. It was almost ironic; Glinda was traveling to the Emerald City with the Scarecrow and had run across the Lion. Of course the Tinman would pop up sooner or later. She laughed to herself, wondering if this made Cade the dog. Dodo, had that been it's name?

Despite her silly musings, Glinda's throat caught when she was face to face with the Tinman, now that she knew who he had once been. She felt horrible; much worse than she felt for Fiyero... she'd been able to reason to herself that her former fiance somewhat deserved his fate. He had cheated on her, hadn't he? Her logic was slightly twisted, she knew. Fiyero loved Elphaba, and that was his only fault. But they'd both hurt her. So she could reason that it had been Fiyero's fault, at least a little.

However Glinda could not cast any blame on Boq for his fate. She couldn't blame Elphaba or dear, dead Nessarose, either. The only blame she could come up with was herself. If she hadn't told him to date Nessarose, he never would've. And she likely would never have become obsessed with him, and eventually harmed him. Glinda could only blame herself; if she hadn't played with emotions, Boq would've still been himself. "I have to do something," she said quietly, "It's not fair for him."

Fiyero was close enough to hear her. "The spell? Glinda, I hate to tell you, but that's been Elphaba's main mission for the past year. Turning me back. I'd assume turning him back wouldn't be any easier."

"Maybe... maybe..." she was speaking to herself, mostly. It still didn't seem at all right. But she didn't have any ideas.

Boq had been standing outside a small cottage, and had watched them approach. He bowed to her, "Lady Glinda," something in his voice made her throat catch. She could now recognize his voice, and place it. The sweet young man's voice seemed out of place coming from the Tinman.

"How do you do, Tinman?" she murmurred, feeling ridiculous. She'd greeted him as if he'd come over for afternoon tea.

"Rather well. You look lovely, though you always do." She blushed, but didn't say anything. "Nice to see you, Scarecrow. I haven't seen you in a long time. And you friend."

"I'm Cade." He stepped forward. Glinda knew Cade felt out of place, but he was the most relaxed among them. He had no unfinished business from the past that was being shoved in his face. Cade shook the Boq's metallic hand, and then retreated to stand at Glinda's side. In a small gesture, Boq angled himself to stand nearer her.

She could hear Fiyero laugh a little and fought the urge to swat at him. Luckily, he said nothing to mortify her. Instead, he casually greeted his old friend, "Hey Boq. Good seeing you."

Boq frowned. "How do you know my name? I never told you my old name. You never told me yours. It was always just 'Scarecrow'. How do you know my name?"

Glinda had no idea what Fiyero was doing. He didn't seemed at all phased. "It's Fiyero."

Now Boq looked more than a little concerned. "The only Fiyero I ever knew was engaged to Lady Glinda, and then ran off with the Wicked Witch of the West. He was killed for being a traitor. So it really can't be you."

"But it is... I just didn't die. Elphaba was able to turn me into a Scarecrow to keep me from dying. Like she turned you into a Tinman to keep Nessarose's spell from killing you."

Boq frowned. "The Witches put this curse on me, there was no saving involved."

A little bit of Fiyero's friendliness faded. "I'm sure if Elphaba knew you felt that way," he emphasized her name, "She could've just let you die from not having a heart." He knew he was being harsh, but felt Glinda's kicking him in the shin was a little unnecessary. "Hey, it's true."

She rolled her eyes, "Boq I know this might be alot to take in. But I know for a fact that my best friend never meant to cause you any harm. She still feels guilty about it." If she'd learned one thing in her life it was this: you caught more flies with honey than vinegar. Fiyero's slight hostility would do no one any good.

Boq frowned. "Elpha-The Wicked Witch of the West died. I was there. She doesn't feel guilty about anything."

Glinda bit on the edge of her lip. "Well, you see, that's not so true... it's a bit of a long story." She went on to explain Elphaba faking her death, and living in the Animal Village. She also explained her illness and the decision to ask Madame Morrible to help lift the curse. "So you can see why we're here," she finished, lightly touching the back of his hand.

"But she's Wicked," he insisted, looking more than a little shaken.

"No she isn't!" Fiyero spoke up, before Glinda could hush him.

"Well, Boq, that was a lot of propaganda. But _I_still trust her. She's still my best friend, and she needs our help. Can't you see why we need to help her? I know she wouldn't hurt anyone, not if she could avoid it." He looked down, considering what Glinda was saying. She decided it was then or never. "And Boq? I would appreciate it if we had your help. Would you help? As a favor to me?"

He looked at her, and despite his metal features, Glinda could still see who he had once been. "I'd do anything for you, Glinda." He groaned a little. "Even help save the Wicked Witch of the West."

She smiled at him. "Thank you, my friend."


	9. A Miracle Would Happen

She never realized how awkward it could be traveling with three males. Especially when you are the only female present. And two of the males are attracted to you(Cade's little crush had become apparent, even to Glinda) and the other is your former fiance.

In other words, Fiyero, Cade, and Boq were all getting testy. Particularly Fiyero, and he wasn't being quiet about it. "Really now, we're almost there." Glinda had said, smoothing down the front of her skirt. They were waiting in the shade of the orchard just outside the castle; they had decided to wait until dusk to actually try to break into Southstairs.

Fiyero was pacing in annoyance. "I'm sorry. I just want to get home to Elphaba as soon as possible. I don't like having to leave her alone like this."

Glinda rolled her eyes. "Then try clicking your heals together three times."

"Funny." He softened a little. "When's the last time you or Cade bothered to eat?"

"Not too long ago, Glinda lied. Cade didn't contradict her, neither of them were calm enough to eat.

"You're lying," Boq said, "I know you haven't ate since last night. Cade overcooked the eggs and you had to use that spell to return them to their natural state. Then you let me cook and... what?" He stopped. Glinda had gotten up and was eagerly flipping through the Grimmerie, which she'd brought with her on a whim.

"I've got it!" She yelped, smiling.

"Got what?" Fiyero said, trying to look over her shoulder at the spell book; he couldn't read it at all.

"How to fix you and Boq! I can turn you back!" She found her page, and bounced a little. "The trick wasn't to find a reversal- you can't reverse a spell! It was to return you to your natural state!"

Boq frowned. "But in my natural state, I don't have a heart. I'll just die."

"So you admit you would be dead without Elphaba!" Fiyero said with a smile, before adding, "But Glinda, my natural form was beaten. I would've died of internal bleeding if Elphaba didn't change me."

"I know... the spell returns the object to it's unharmed natural state. Like the eggs- they weren't even cracked when I changed them back. It's perfect for undoing a mistake."

Cade was fighting off the urge to laugh. "Glinda, are you really going to use a spell on them you used to fix eggs?"

She glared at him, "Master Cadyrn, do you have a better idea?" She looked at Fiyero. "You said Elphaba wanted nothing more than to change you back. If I can do it, I atleast have to try, for her."

The mention of Elphaba was enough to convince him atleast. "I'm in. I trust you, Glinda."

Boq made a face, and clearly felt cornered- he was a little afraid, but how could he let Fiyero upstage him yet again? "Ok course I trust you Glinda. You want to do it now? We have nothing to do until the sun goes down."

The two of them glared at each other, both waiting for the other to come up with some reason to cancel the spell. When neither of them did, Glinda said the spell she had found.

And surprised them all when it worked.

Both of them fainted dead away, but revived quickly enough. Boq blinked at seeing Glinda hover over him. "I'm alive, right?"

She smiled. "Right."

Cade sat at the edge of the circle. "Hate to ruin the moment, but that took awhile. Sun's setting. If you're all ready to go, we should probably head in soon."

Without hesitating to consider the after effects of the spell, Fiyero was up, ready to see Morrible, and get home. As the four of them turned to go, Glinda reached forward to grab Fiyero's arm. "Wait." Cade and Boq stopped as well. "Oh, I just needed to speak with him for a moment, we'll catch up." They looked at each other, reluctant to go on without them. "I promise we'll be along in a minute, don't go far. I'd like to speak to him about Elphaba." The two of them seemed to accept this.

Fiyero was staring at Glinda by this point, "What is it?"

She looked down, turning red, making sure Cade and Boq were out of earshot. "I just need to know, because we might not make it out of here alive, and it doesn't matter anymore, but-"

"Spit it out, Glinda."

"Did you ever love me?"

He certainly hadn't been expecting that. He opened his mouth a few times to try to speak, but eventually all he was able to say was "Glinda, how can you ask that?"

"I know, I'm sorry. Of course you didn't, not when Elphaba-"

He held his hands up. "Wait... I mean, why do you have to ask? Glinda, of course I did. I still do."

"But Elphie-"

He swallowed hard, thinking about Elphaba. There was no lying and saying his connection with Elphaba was like anything he had ever felt about anyone else. "It's different. The two of you are different. I love her, but in a completely different way than I feel about you."

"You love her better."

"No. Just different." He ran a hand over his messy hair. It had spent enough time as straw to never become neat again. "Can I tell you something? If we make it out of this, and save her, I want to marry her."

She smiled. "Good." Somehow, things felt better now. He hadn't really betrayed her, he had loved her. He hadn't been leading her on, he had loved her. His connection with Elphaba had just been so strong. She silently forgave him for things she hadn't realized she blamed him for. She continued on, excited at the prospect of a wedding. "You better. I'll hold you to that."


	10. Down Once More

Bit of a shorter chapter, but I spent most of today outlining my next story, to be started when I finish either this or If I Told You... I have no idea which will be finished first. So that's a little excitement for you all... assuming you want to read more of my writing.

Ugh. I am so sunburned. I hate it. This is why I'm normally such a shut in. You don't get sunburns from reading fanfiction.

* * *

Glinda felt much better after having spoken with Fiyero. It didn't quite erase the history between them, but it did give her a bit more closure. She felt free to move on now, something she realized she had never really done.

Of course, moving on romantically with anyone was not her primary concern at that moment. Her main concern was the fact that she and her companions were currently slipping into the Guard's chambers, a direct path to Southstairs. Glinda had no desire to be recognized by her own men. Luckily, the hood of the cloak she had borrowed from Elphaba mostly obscured her features.

Cade, who was normally quiet took charge. He whispered to Glinda, "Please don't listen to this, ma'am. Just the best way to get us through." He looked back at Boq and Fiyero. There were no worries of Boq being recognized, but Fiyero had lived at the palace for years. "Fiyero, stay back. You look rough enough, so people shouldn't guess who you are if they don't get a good look at you." Fiyero nodded and Cade grabbed Glinda's wrists before greeting the guards. "Hey there, just taking this one back in. Seems like we have an agitator for the dear and dead Wicked Witch of the West. These two found her out in the woods, and alerted me." It was a plausible story; in Elphaba's dark dress and cape, Glinda did look like a follower of the Witch.

One of them nodded. "Take her on in. Are these two with you?"

"Yeah, figured I'd give 'em a little tour. Not many people see Southstairs and get to tell about it."

The other guard smiled. "See you around, Cade," It was eerie how easy it was to get into Southstairs. Of course, getting out was surely another story.

Once they were past, Boq asked, "Cade, I thought you were one of Glinda's drivers? Why are you so familiar with Southstairs?"

He shrugged, and Glinda spoke up. "I like to go out with minimal security. I hate being stuck behind endless guards and servants. It isn't all it's cracked up to be."

"So her drivers are all also trained as Guards. That's why they know me through here." He continued on, walking down the murky path.

Glinda grabbed his shoulder shivering a little. "Be careful. I've had murderers and rapists and all sorts of criminals locked in here. Just the day before I received your letter, Fiyero, I had to sign the papers for a man who killed his entire family because his wife was having an affair."

The three of them looked at each other, a little horrified. Boq spoke up first. "Lurline, Glinda. You are saying you keep all of the villains of Oz beneath your own palace? Doesn't that strike you as slightly unsafe?"

She sniffed. "I don't believe putting people to death is the answer. I just don't want them to be able to harm anyone else. They'll get their dues eventually. And where better to keep them than in my own backyard? If I can keep them from hurting anyone else, why bother killing them?"

Fiyero paced a little, not able to keep his mouth shut for that much longer. "Glinda, where exactly is Morrible's cell? I've been in here before, back before... back when I was Captain. We don't need to be here longer then necessary."

"I thought it was fitting to put her with the Animals who commited treason against their own kind."

"How is that fitting?" Cade asked.

She laughed a little. "Where better than with those she tried to hurt?"

Fiyero smiled. "Elphaba's sense of humor is wearing off on you, isn't it?"

"Only a little."

The small talk was really just to distract them. They walked past rows upon rows of cells. Boq focused on not focusing on why each of the criminals was in here. He knew he didn't really want to know. There were catcalls from the prisoners, some jeering, some pleading to be released. He took a protective step toward Glinda without realizing it. He nearly wished for his old tin form- being human again was wonderful, but he was much more destructible now.

He was glad to be human. He just didn't want to waste it by getting himself killed in an underground prison with no one to tell the tale.

Cade stopped in front of a door. "This is the wing for the treasonous Animals. She'll be in here." He smiled a little, adrenaline flooding their systems. "Are you ready?"

"We better be," said Glinda, pushing the door open.


	11. The Guilty Ones

Another short one, but I thought this was better on it's own than as a part of a longer piece. Read, review. Cake for all!

* * *

The four of them walked past the cells of the Animals. This wing of the prison wasn't as clean as the human area. As if the maintenance people thought Animals could put up with more muck or deserved to be less sanitary. The smell was enough to make someone sick. They all held their breath. The floor was rough, and it looked as if the tile had been laid in a hurry. Glinda stumbled on an irregularity in the floor and Cade caught her arm, keeping her on her feet. She looked at him, a little surprised when he didn't let go. She didn't say anything, though, telling herself it was simply because she didn't want to trip again.

Madame Morrible was easy to find, in the very last cell. She sat on a bench in the back of her cell, smiling when the foursome approached. She didn't seem particularly surprised at their approach, as if she knew they would be coming. "Look, my past students have come to pay me a little visit. Miss Glinda, you don't look well. Ruling doesn't seem to suit you. Smiling and waving was always more your style."

She rolled her eyes, not willing to let the old woman get under her skin. "Madame, I wouldn't say prison seems to suit you, either. You look more like a fish than ever." She added her classic bright smile, but Morrible ignored her.

"And our former Captain of the Guard, Master Fiyero. I had a feeling you weren't really dead. Especially once I found out your little green lover was still alive. How is she? Well, I hope..." Fiyero couldn't respond, turning away from her, his fists clinching until the knuckles went white. In his mind, Morrible wasn't even worthy of speaking about Elphaba. "And Master Boq. Still pining after Miss Glinda... though she seems to be enjoying the support of another. As it always was." She gestured to Glinda still holding Cade's arm. She looked over at Boq, her face turning red she saw a little bit of pain there.

Glinda let go of Cade, dropping the society voice she was so accustomed to using. "Listen. Elphaba is sick with a magical illness. I'm not a betting woman, but if I were, my money would go on you having something to do with it."

"You know what they say about people who assume, they make an-"

"Quiet!" Glinda raised her hand, silencing the woman. "I don't care if you caused it or not. Either way, you are going to help her recover."

"I am, am I? Why would I do that?" Morrible sat back. "If, per say I did cause the spell, why would I remove it? Why would I undo work that could potentially work to my benefit?"

Glinda tried to stay calm, squaring her shoulders. Making sure to keep her voice from quivering, she said, "Otherwise we'll have you killed. Those are your options. You help save Elphaba, and we return you to your cell. Or we kill you. It's your choice. However I don't think death would work to your benefit at all."

Morrible didn't bat an eye, her face calm. "Since when have you been capable of the death penalty, Miss Glinda? No criminals have been put to death since you took power. Everyone knows that."

"There are special circumstances for everything. This is one of them." Glinda stood with her spine straight, reminding them all a little bit of Elphaba when she was in her prime, when she had defied the Wizard. She held her head high so she had to slightly look down her nose to see Morrible. It was odd for her friends to watch her look so authoritative. Glinda had grown up very quickly and it showed.

"I suppose if those are my options, what am I to choose?" Morrible said, rising to her full height, trying to look imposing. Although she towered over Glinda, who was not quite five feet tall, it was clear who was holding the cards. "Helping the green brat would be better than death. Or at least considering it.

Glinda didn't bat an eye, muttering a spell that produced iron chains out of thin air. Cade unlocked the cell, and she handed the chains to him. "Cuff her, and let's get out of here. Not a word to anyone." She turned on her heel, glancing over her shoulder. "Any funny bussiness and we kill you anyway. I'm not afraid to."

"If you kill me, how will you save Miss Thropp?"

"Elphaba would just as soon recover as see you dead."


	12. Simple As This

Hello there. A little more drama for you.

Anyone else in Marching Band? I'm in color guard, and we watched a Drum Core International competition yesterday. It was kind of amazing.

And why are guys so stupid? I do not enjoy being up at three AM due to an argument with my significant other. Seriously. It was a pain.

Enough of my personal life, LOL. It was all OK in the end, anyway.

* * *

It was slow going making it back to the Village, intensified by Madame Morrible's constant stream of complaints. "Lyn, can't you make a huge bubble or something, I can't take this much longer," Fiyero said, trying his hardest to ignore Morrible, even as he held her arm, keeping her from running off.

"It would call way too much attention to us. And I really can't support that big of a bubble. It would need to be huge," she said, stepping over a fallen log. He nodded, knowing that would be the answer. All the same, it was a little disappointing.

They had decided to sleep in shifts, Glinda volunteering to sit up and keep watch first. The boys all grudgingly laid down to sleep (Fiyero and Boq for the first time in quite awhile) and Glinda made herself as comfortable as possible. She murmured a binding spell, keeping Morrible where she was.

"Lovely trick. Did your Elphie teach you that before she ran off with your fiance?"

"That's in the past." She wrapped her arms around her knees. "I'm not angry with either of them,"

"Of course you aren't... though I wonder how she feels about her sister's death now. All forgiven or not, Nessarose is still dead. Surely she's still hurt over that. I mean, surely facilitating murder is worse than stealing your only friend's beloved."

"I didn't mean for Nessa to get hurt. That was all you."

Morrible sat with her spine straight, using her height as an advantage. "Oh, really? Alright then. Still, it must still hurt. Look at him! So intent on getting home so he can return to his Elphaba. Sweet how much he loves her. And of course he does! She's such a strong witch, always the intelligent one. Very powerful. Never afraid to stand up for herself. Never hid behind a pretty face, smiling. Of course he chose her."

"Enough!" Glinda yelped. She felt tears prick at her eyes.

Cade stirred, he'd been sleeping near her. "Glinda?" He could see her expression, was concerned. "Glinda, I'll stay up for awhile. Why not go to sleep? You look tired."

She frowned. She'd only sat up for about an hour, but in no way did she want to have to finish that conversation with Morrible. "Alright Cade, thanks." She eagerly curled up on her side, willing sleep to come as soon as possible.

--

"What the hell are you doing?" A few hours later, she was reawakened by Fiyero, clearly angry. She sat up, bleary eyed. Fiyero was up, and Boq was halfway to his feet. Cade and Morrible stood at the edge of the clearing they had set up camp in. Morrible's chains were on the ground. Seeing this, she quickly got up as well.

"What?" she heard herself say, still slightly confused, but aware enough to murmur a simply spell that send the chains flying at Morrible, restraining her.

Fiyero had quickly crossed over to Cade, grabbing his arm. "He's a traitor! She could've escaped, this all would've been for nothing!"

"There could be some explanation," Boq tried, eager to try to keep some semblance of peace, not liking how Glinda's clear confusion had faded into a mix of disappointment and betrayal.

"Cade, what've you done?" She asked. He had been the member of her staff that she had trusted most, the only one she would even considering telling Elphaba's real story. He knew everything... if he told, Elphaba would never be safe. And if he let Morrible go free, Elphaba would never heal. That, paired with his sweetness to her...

Fiyero didn't give him a chance to explain. "I don't care, I know what I saw. I'm not letting a traitor ruin everything. I'll be the one to watch Morrible. We'll deal with you once we get home."

Glinda came up beside him, "Fiyero, you can't do that. When will you sleep?" She knew he would probably try to survive on will alone, for Elphaba. But that didn't mean she should let him.

"I won't, not until I get home. I'm not letting some traitor stop me from getting home to Elphaba, and from saving her." He touched her shoulder, still with an eye on Morrible. "I didn't sleep since that day in the cornfield. I'll be fine.

"We don't even know he was betraying us," she said as if Cadyrn and Morrible weren't there, listening to them discuss their fates. "And we also don't know if she'll even reverse her spell."

"That could be true, but that doesn't change anything." He crossed his arms. "Glinda, I'm getting home to her, no matter what. And I'm going to do whatever it takes to help her. She's been through too much for it to all end like this."

She nodded, understanding. "Alright." They all settled back on to the floor, but no one was willing to sleep, they all were lost in thought. It was a relief when dawn came and they had an excuse to continue.


	13. You And I

Ugh. I hate funerals. They are all so fake and stiff... nothing at all like the person you're missing. When I die, I want my funeral to be at a theatre, not a church. It would be more me. I want people to be as happy as possible, I don't want them to waste their time praying over my dead body. I'd be dead! Why would I need prayer? Remember the good times, don't dwell on me being dead.

Sorry, mini-rant. I had to go to the funeral of one of my co-workers this morning, and I was pretty miserable. I hate how stiff it was... ugh.

Be glad... I eliminated a chapter of this, taking a minor plot point and briefly addressing it in this... I knew you all wanted to get to the good stuff!

**R.I.P.**

**Mike**

_See you later, my friend_

* * *

In all the time she had known him, Glinda had never seen Fiyero more excited than he was once the Village was back in sight. That was not an easy feat, especially considering his stress over Cadyrn and Morrible. "The Animal Village. I can't say I'm surprised Elphaba would choose to live here, she was always more Lizard than Girl," Morrible said, trying to be condescending but no one else paid her any mind.

They were given a hero's welcome, even though all they had done was retrieve the biggest threat to their way of life. Morrible and Cade were passed off, into the small, never before used jail; the police station doubled as a post office. Officer Brier, the Leopard police chief was pleased to finally be of service. Luckily, there were two cells.

Glinda felt a little bad about it. Something about the entire situation wasn't right. She had known Cade far too long for him to simply betray her. It was completely out of character. That didn't mean she thought he was completely innocent. She knew what she had seen, Cade letting Morrible loose of her bonds. She could have run off, everything ruined.

She remembered standing around, passing a canteen of water between them. He had sidled up next to her, "Thank you. You were the one who kept a level head. Fiyero overreacted."

Glinda had made a face. "The woman he loves was threatened." Something in his comment had registered as wrong. Did he think that it was no big deal, to have nearly let Morrible escape? She couldn't put her finger on it. In no way did she think Fiyero had been in the wrong. It made her head hurt to think about it.

As much as she wanted to, she knew she had to allow Fiyero to see Elphaba himself, first. There would be time later for the girls to reunite. So Fiyero entered the home, alone, passing Valia Dillamond on her way out. She smiled. She didn't recognize his true human form, but knew it was him all the same. He pushed the door open slowly, taking everything in.

The little cottage hadn't changed. It was as neat as ever, sunlight streaming past the opened curtains. Elphaba was in the bed, half asleep. "Fae?" He said quietly, hoping not to startle her. "Fae, it's me, we're back."

Her eyes fluttered open, then widened in surprise. "Yero! You're... just look at you!" Her voice was weak, quiet, but her excitement was tangible. He laughed a little, pushing stress aside. He slipped into the bed beside her. He picked her hand up and kissed it before laying it back down on the bed. "How?"

"Glinda."

Her eyes narrowed. "Glinda?"

He nodded. "Boq too, he's here. I think she's been putting the Grimmerie to good use. She claims she doesn't know what she's doing, but I'm not convinced. She's better than she thinks."

She confirmed it, "She never really expected to be good at some skill. I'm proud of her." She was quiet for a long moment. She had fallen back into an uneasy asleep. Glinda had said more than once that her condition shouldn't change at all. He supposed she actually hadn't got any worse, but the effects of being sick were easy to see. She couldn't have been eating very much, she was thinner than ever. He decided he would have to have Morrible cast the new spell as soon as possible, hopefully the next day.

She rolled over, accidentally colliding with him. She was clearly confused for a minute. "You're still here?"

His eyes narrowed. "Of course I am, Fae. Why would I leave?"

She looked uncomfortable, shifting away from him. He sat up and could see that she was looking out the window. The sun had just begun to set, and the sky was pink. "I just figured you wouldn't still be here." It clearly wasn't her whole answer though.

"Why not? I've spent the last few days away from you. I'm not going anywhere." He held her hand; it felt too bony.

"Stop, you can stop." She waved a hand, cutting him off. "I understand, Yero, I do. You're perfect again, and just look at me. I can't even stand on my own two feet. Don't force yourself to stay here because you're supposed to. You've done far too much for my sake. You'd be so much better off if you just left."

He was more than a little horrified. Where had she gotten the idea that he would leave her in her head? "Elphaba Thropp, shut up. I am not, and will not ever leave you. Ever. I love you, you crazy woman. I couldn't leave if I wanted to."

"But what about once I'm gone?" Her question was simple, and he realized that all they had accomplished was bringing Morrible to the camp. They had no reason to think Morrible even could help Elphaba, much less would. Elphaba still believed she would die soon, and he truthfully had no reason to think otherwise.

"You aren't going anywhere. I won't let you." He gently pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms lightly around her. She felt oddly fragile. "You are going to get better." He brushed his lips across her forehead. "Magic or not, you will get better. And then we'll be together, for the rest of our lives. I promise you that, Elphaba."


	14. Louder Than Words

"Glinda, contrary to what Fiyero says, I really don't need to be baby-sat." The following morning, Fiyero had gone with Boq to collect Madame Morrible, leaving Glinda to stay with her. Elphaba may have been sick, but she wasn't so far out of it that she hadn't noticed she hadn't been left alone since her friends had come back.

Glinda rolled her eyes. "Oh, in that case, I'll be leaving now." She was lying on her stomach in the bed with Elphaba. "Really Elphie, is it so hard to think I want to spend a little time with my best friend? Fiyero hogged you yesterday. I haven't gotten to talk to you in so long."

Elphaba softened. "Well, I'm certainty not going anywhere." She frowned. "So they're bringing Morrible here?"

Glinda nodded. "Shouldn't be too long."

Elphaba pointed to her dresser. "This is the one and only time I'll ask you to do this, but could you brush my hair out? I... I don't care what anyone else thinks, but I don't want Morrible to see me as broken. She probably did this to me, but I.."

Glinda understood, grabbing Elphaba's hairbrush. Her hair seemed thinner, but it was still lovely. "I understand, Elphie. I do. You don't want her to have the power to break you. And she doesn't." Glinda helped Elphaba to sit all the way up, brushing through the strands.

"What if this doesn't work? Glinda, if... if I die-"

Glinda stopped brushing. "I'm sure of it by now. You're illness isn't natural, it's magical. You aren't dying, you won't get worst."

"The sickness won't, but it's still weakening me. I can barely keep any food down, if nothing else." She hesitated to get better control of herself. "I haven't given up. I made a promise to Fiyero that I wouldn't, but that doesn't mean I won't die."

Glinda softened, shifting over so she sat beside her best friend, her arm wrapped around her shoulders. "You're afraid."

"Of course I am. Just not for me. I'm worried about what will happen to him if I do die. When he was the Scarecrow, he'd made it clear to me on more than one occasion that he would destroy himself after I died."

"He told you that?" Glinda was a little horrified.

Elphaba shrugged. "Never directly. But I knew. And I always figured that would be a long time from now. I also always felt that he was only living a half-life for so long. He wasn't even physically human. So it almost wouldn't be a death to him." She ran a hand over her hair. "But now he's got himself back. I don't want him to do anything stupid if he looses me. I almost want him to leave now because I would worry about him less. I don't want him to have to watch me die, if I do."

Glinda could feel herself tearing up over Elphaba's very real fear. "He'll be fine, I'll watch him."

"You really think _you_ could keep him from doing something stupid?"

"Are you forgetting I've been crowned Queen of Oz? Everyone else isn't afraid to stick responsibility on me. I think I can keep Fiyero from doing something stupidly sweet."

Elphaba wasn't quite convinced, but she smiled... that smile vanished when the door opened. Fiyero, Boq, and Morrible filed in. "Miss Elphaba, you seem greener than usual," Morrible chided with mock concern. "I was so worried when I heard you weren't well."

Elphaba glared at her, but it was awfully hard to be intimidating when she was stuck in bed, clutching her best friend's hand. "Madame. Somehow, I doubt you were very concerned at all."

"What do you mean, my dear? My _brightest_ student, who I had, until very recently thought to be dead. Of course I'm... concerned."

Glinda squeezed Elphaba's hand. "If you're so concerned, Madame, would you please undo the spell? Surely you can tell as easily as I can that it's of a magical origin."

"But I didn't cast the spell," she said. Fiyero fought the urge to snap the brittle arm he held her by. "Why, how could you accuse me of such a thing- you didn't need words to do it."

"That doesn't mean you can't undo it, even though I can barely believe you didn't cause it."

"I wouldn't know the spell. Weather was my specialty. Rain, storms, tornados..." She gave Elphaba a significant look.

"We have the Grimmerie."

"Can't say I can read it."

"Stop evading, I know-"

"Enough!" It was Elphaba's hoarse whisper that cut her off. "Glinda, please. She isn't going to do it. Take her out of here. I don't know why I ever thought she could help. I don't know why I let you all go and get her. Please, Boq? Take her away." He obliged. Fiyero and Glinda exchanged a sad look. Elphaba laid back down and stared out the window.

Glinda walked through the town. She couldn't stay around Elphaba much longer, it depressed her too much. She wasn't sure why, but she walked toward the jail. She glared at Morrible, but it was comforting to see her behind bars. One guard was letting Cade out of his cell. "What are you doing?"

The deputy(who was also the post master) looked over at her, "Good afternoon, Lady Glinda. We allow each of them an hour outside of their cell each day. It's his turn to get some fresh air."

She hadn't been able to talk to him, to hear his side of the story... Maybe... "Sir, I can keep a watch on him. I can magic him from running off."

"If you wish, Ma'am, the guard shift is about to switch, anyway. I can get started on my paperwork."

A few minutes later, the two of them stood outside. "I wasn't aware you missed my company, Glinda."

"I wanted to hear what you have to stay for yourself." She folded her arms acrossed her chest.

"Why does it matter? Fiyero and Boq already decided I'm a traitor and you mostly agree with them."

"I have my own mind, but you're doing very little to change it." They glared at each other for awhile. Eventually, she sighed. "Whatever, Cadyrn. I'm done dealing with you. Let's go back in."

"Whatever you say." The twon of them walked back into the jail. The guards were still in the process of switching... all seemed fine.

But Madame Morrible was not locked in her cell, as she should have been.


	15. I Know The Truth

I love this chapter. LOL. I'm sorry for the massive chunks of dialogue in this, however. There was no other way to tell the story I was trying to tell. No random ramblings today, see you later!

* * *

For a minute, everything froze for Glinda. Her heart stopped and she knew she wasn't breathing. She was too horrified. Madame Morrible was gone. She had escaped. It repeated over and over again in her head.

Then time started again, "You!" She pointed to Cade. "It had to have been you. You must have freed her."

He blinked a few times. "You have no proof of that, Lady Glinda." He was too calm, as if he didn't care about his fate at all. She knew that was the case, with odd clarity.

"You're a traitor. Fiyero was right." She shoved him back into his cell. She turned to yell outside into the courtyard. She explained the situation, sending for help dealing with things. Then she returned to Cade. "After everything you saw, everything I told you. You betrayed us."

"Madame, I never claimed to want to help you save the Wicked Witch of the West's life." Glinda shut her eyes, the horrible slur against Elphaba was like a slap across the face. It hurt more to hear it spoken by someone she had trusted. "I only ever agreed to escort you here, to keep you safe. And I did. Nothing was ever going to harm you."

"But-"

"Listen, Lady Glinda. You claim that no one knew the Witch's side of the story, that she was completely innocent once you knew her story. So why not let me explain? You wouldn't want to be a hypocrite, would you?"

"I'm all ears." Her eyes were watery. She sat down at the sheriff's desk, as far from Cade as she could be.

"My father was a member of the Gale Force. He had been in the military since he was a teenager under the Ozma Regent. It was the Royal Guard back then. When the Wizard took power, my father was still a young man. He had married, and I was an infant. He didn't understand much of politics, and simply pledged allegiance to the Wizard. Throughout my childhood we always moved to different bases throughout. Dad wanted me to enlist as soon as I was old enough and I promised I would. I did when most young people my age began college. University was not for me.

"He was one of the most senior members if the Force. Not long after two college girls came to the Emerald City, the former Captain of the Guard retired. My father was in the running for new Captain of the Guard. Of course, he got overlooked for a man no older than myself. He was a Prince. That paired with the fact that he was the significant other of Lady Glinda made him a shoe in.

"Of course I'm talking about Fiyero. He wasn't in the guard so long, not any longer than I was. He had very quickly moved through the ranks, however. I was still a private, but I couldn't see anything he did better than me. I admit I was jealous. Not only did my father get over looked for him, I admit to being a little in love with his pretty girlfriend.

"The enemy of Oz was the Wicked Witch of the West. As a member of the Gale Force, I had always been taught to kill her if I were ever given the chance. That was the change Fiyero made; he insisted that we capture her instead, bring her directly to him. Now I can see why he said this. Who knew he loved her? I suppose you didn't until recently."

"Shut up!" Glinda said. It was the truth, but she didn't want to hear it.

"Testy? Either way. While most of the Force blindly listened to him, the elder men didn't always. Eventually, we found out that he was the traitor. He had run off with her, and had been killed because of it. The older members of the guard decided to take raid on her castle... My father told me to stay in the Emerald City. You probably don't remember, but I was one of your personal guards. No one gave any order, and he didn't want me to be punished.

"The Witch may be sickly and weak now, but she wasn't then. She also had an army of familiars, dogs, crows, bees. And of course, the Monkeys. It was one of them that killed my father. Of course, now you can see that it was not blind allegiance to the Gale Force. Now things were personal. I was never happier than when I found out that Dorothy had killed the Witch. I never suspected that the new Queen of Oz was a Witch sympathizer."

Glinda felt the need to step in again, to angrily pout, "I'm a Witch too, the Witch of the North."

He simply smiled at her. "I'd fallen in love with you by that point. I did my best to get promoted in the guard, hoping to catch your attention. You were lonely often. I was still one of your personal guards, and I also began work in the palace. When you came to me, asking me to take you away on some secret mission, I was elated. This would be my opportunity to tell you how I felt. I never suspected that the friend you were so worried about was the Witch herself, back from the dead. Imagine my shock the one time I saw her. She is sick and broken, but I still blame her. How can I not? Her Flying Monkey killed my father. If she didn't exist, that never would've happened. Even worse, there was Fiyero. Not the handsome Prince he had once been, but still him. And now he's completely himself again.

"I wanted to walk out. I didn't want to hurt you. But I knew that just because I had gotten you so far, I had helped potentially save the Witch. I had to do what it took to reverse that. And so I let Madame Morrible go, what little that was. Frankly, I don't see why you're so angry. She was never going to reverse her spell on the Witch- yes, her spell. She never told me, but it was plain to see. Her best shot at getting out of prison, of regaining her freedom was to get under your skin. What better way to distract you than to have you worried to death over your best friend, who was supposed to be dead?"

She glanced out the window. A crowd had formed, Fiyero and Boq at the center of it. She tried not to look at the rifle in Fiyero's hands. She pushed the door open, stepping back into the daylight. "Was it worth it, then? Being marked a traitor just so you could get some revenge? Are you ready to pay the consequences?" She kept her voice from shaking.

"I'm to die? Another death because of the Wicked Witch of the West. Father and I have that in common, don't we?"

She backed out the door, gesturing for the crowd to go inside, to do what they must do. Fiyero had Cade by the arm, leading him away, toward the forest outside the Camp. This didn't have to affect the citizens of the village. A smaller crowd of a few Animals followed. Boq stayed with her. "He betrayed us," she whispered. It wasn't all of the story, though. Every story has two sides...

"I know he did." Was all he said back. He tried to give her a smile, but it wasn't working. "Let's go back to Elphaba."

She nodded, thinking of the past. She took Boq's arm, thinking of Shiz. Romance was now the last thing on her mind, and she realized it was the last thing on his as well. He may have loved her once, maybe still did. But that mattered less now. She had thought the original death of Elphaba had matured her. She realized she still had so much to learn.

She felt tears prick at her eyes when she heard the rifle go off behind her. She didn't turn around to try to see.


	16. Look At Me Now

Glinda and Boq walked into the little house. Elphaba wasn't really surprised, though she did mutter, "What in the world happened to knocking?" Her light mood faded when she saw her friend's faces, knowing what had to have happened. She'd heard Fiyero being told Morrible was gone. But there was more than that. She'd also seen him grab the rifle that had been gathering dust next to the door. "Glinda-"

That was all the blonde woman needed to go to the bed, climbing in beside her best friend. Elphaba touched her back. "What happened?" She had an idea, but wanted to hear it.

Glinda tried to say something, but failed. Boq settled into the arm chair not too far from the bed. "Cade was the one to free her. He betrayed us, not for the first time. We had to..."

Elphaba waved her hand, cutting him off. "Glin?"

"I trusted him, this is my fault. I never thought... He wanted revenge, Elphie. He was fed all of that propaganda and never forgot it! He couldn't see you as you, he just saw the Wicked Witch of the West. He couldn't see you for the person you are, even after he knew your story."

Elphaba wasn't as shocked as one would have thought- she didn't seem at all surprised. "That's not so odd. Remember how I told you not to clear my name? I knew people wouldn't buy it. That's why we had to leave and-" Fiyero came in the door then, looking down. He set down the rifle in it's customary shot by the door. He walked to the sink, washing his hands repeatedly. "Yero?"

He looked up, surprised at hearing her voice. "Hmm? Oh!" He came back to himself, realizing he was nearly scrubbing his hands raw. He shut the sink off, drying his hands. "It's over," he said. "I... We don't have to worry about him anymore." He perched next to Elphaba on the bed, on the opposite side from Glinda.

"Morrible?" Boq asked.

Fiyero shook his head. "We don't know. She got out of there pretty quickly. The others want to look for her."

"And you don't?" Glinda looked up from where she had buried her face in the pillow. It was tear streaked.

"I want to find her, I do. But..." He looked over, gently pulling Elphaba to him. It was clear then, what he meant. He didn't want to go out on some quest to find Morrible again, even though it could prove fruitless. He didn't want to waste time on some wild goose chase. Because, and it was painful to see, Elphaba was clearly running out of steam. If things didn't change soon, she wouldn't make it too much longer. She coughed, and it was the only sound amidst their silence. He didn't want to leave in case she died while he was gone. From the look on her face, it was clear Elphaba didn't want him to leave, either.

But Glinda wasn't ready to give up yet. "What? No! Elphie, no! How can you say that? You mean you plan to just die? Just let her get the best of you, again? Elphaba, no! This isn't like you! You've never given up on anything!" Glinda had calmed, but now the tears were streaming down her face. "Are you saying you're done? You're ready to let Madame Morrible win? Fiyero? You'll let her die?"

Elphaba reached toward her. "Glinda, please. Calm down, there's nothing you can do, nothing anyone can do. She's gone, and I never thought she would help me anyway. Why in Oz would she? I'm done, there's no more. I don't want any of you to leave. I don't want you to not be here when.." She cut herself off with a cough and didn't bother finishing her sentence. They knew what she had been about to say.

"No!" Glinda was up, staring at her friends in horror. "I lost you once. I'm not doing it again. If you won't save yourself, I'll save you."

"But-"

"You gave me the Grimmerie. You told me to learn to read it. You told me I could finish your work, and I have. I cleared the way for the very village you live in! I was able to reverse your spells on Fiyero and Boq, as well as Nessarose's spell on Boq. I'm not the Witch you ever were, but I want a shot. I'm not giving up on you, even if everyone else has. I refuse to."

"Glinda-"

"Damn it Elphaba, trust me! Trust I can do this. Let me do this. It might not work, but it's sure as hell better than giving up."

Elphaba looked at Fiyero, giving him a half smile, squeezing his hand as much as she could. "Alright,"she said to Glinda. "I trust you. I just don't want you to be disappointed."

"I won't be. You won't be either." Glinda calmed, returning to the bed.

"Silly girl, I could never be disapointed in you."


	17. I Believe

Fiyero was awakened by a feminine hiss of annoyance, and the sound of a thick book being thrown against the wall. It wasn't so unusual a sound to him; Elphaba had spent many nights being annoyed and throwing books around the room. However, the fact that Elphaba's fevered body was curled up beside him made it a little odd. He sat up slowly to avoid waking his lover up, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the low light. "Glinda?" he whispered.

"It's just me," she was seated on the floor, several spell books littered in a circle around her. The volume that had offended her was tossed against the wall.

"Umm, I don't really mind, but why are you here? What time is it? Didn't you go back to the inn?" It had to be late- he hadn't gone to sleep until long past midnight, and there was no hint of light to the sky.

"I would guess not quite five in the morning, but I could be wrong. I couldn't sleep and decided to try to get some work done."

He blinked at her. "Have you slept at all?" She looked exhausted.

"Yes," she lied. "And anyway there will be time to sleep after this is all over."

He considered telling her to just sleep, but he had learned that once a woman had her mind set on something, she was not going to change it. So, he gingerly got out of bed, tucking the blankets around Elphaba. He carefully stepped over the books to the little kitchen, setting to make a pot of coffee. Really, about three hours of sleep a night was getting to be pretty typical for him. Actually, he didn't think he'd slept much more than that since he had been transformed into a Scarecrow.

He idly poured two cups, offering one to Glinda. She took a sip of it, sat it down, and promptly ignored it. She was flipping through a thick book. "Any luck?"

Glinda shrugged. "A lot of these books are crap. Made up and sold by fake Fortune Tellers and the like," she said, pointing to a pile of books in one corner of the room. "And then there are the books of love spells, and the books of curses. I flipped through that one to see if there were any reversals. Seeing as most of the spells in that book were meant to cause painful deaths, there was no need to reverse the spells." She took another drink of coffee. "Where did Elphaba even get all of these books?"

"When she was trying to turn me back, she asked everyone to keep an eye out for spellbooks. Everyone obliged; they know she's good, but they also know she's a Witch. If anyone could use the books, she could. Or you can," he added, trying to give an encouraging smile. "Maybe I can help you look?"

She tossed a book to him. "I need more than a healing spell- though if worst comes to worst, one of those could probably ease her symptoms, at least for awhile. I need to be able to reverse the curse on her- that's the only way she'll really heal." And so the two of them got down to work.

Later that morning, after the sun had actually rose, Elphaba stirred. She was a little surprised to not find Fiyero beside her, but quickly found him and Glinda sitting on the floor, surrounded by books. "Yero? Lin? How long have the two of you been awake?" The two of them exchanged a look, and Elphaba cut them off with a hand. "I don't want to know, do I?"

"Probably not," Glinda admitted.

"Definitly not," Fiyero amended, getting up. His joints cracked as he went to sit on the edge of the bed, lightly touching her forehead, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

Glinda smiled at the sweet gesture. "I'll be back, I'm going to go out and stretch my legs. You really don't want to know how long I've been sitting on your floor."

"How the Popular have fallen. Glinda, I can't even remember you studying at Shiz. Much less waking up in the middle of the night to do it."

"Oh, you're just rubbing off of me. I'm probably going green." She went to the door of the cabin, waggling her fingers at her friend. "I'll be back soon."

With some effort, Elphaba shifted up to a sitting position, aided by Fiyero putting a few pillows behind her. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

She smiled. "Oh, I thought we could go for a run this afternoon." She rolled her eyes as she leaned against his shoulder, reaching for one of his hands. "I don't think I've ever been so bored in my life. I hate this weakness, having to be taken care of by other people."

"I don't mind it, I mean I mind that you're ill. But I don't at all resent taking care of you."

"As sweet as that may be, I'd prefer to simply take care of myself," she was pouting a little. Maybe she and Glinda _were_ rubbing off on each other.

"You're going to get better. It's what Glinda wants. And she gets what she wants."

She laughed, but said, "Not always. I remember a time when she wanted you... one of the few times I got what I wanted."

"Perhaps. But then the universe learned that it was best to give her what she wanted. Surely it won't defy her again."

"I hope not," but she was more somber now, her light mood vanished. "Would you be surprised if I told you I was a little afraid?"

He wasn't really, but was surprised to hear her admit it. "A little, but it's typical." He lifted her chin to kiss her. "It'll be alright, eventually. I'll always be by your side, Fae. Even if-" his voice caught and he had to clear his throat. "Even if this is the end of your life, it's not the end of us. We made it this far, we won't be separated. I promise, one way or another."

Three long, slow days later, Glinda had it. A spell to remove any enchantment that had ever been cast over a person. She cast it, exhausting herself as Boq and Fiyero stood aside. Elphaba fell into a deep sleep, either healing or fatal...


	18. A Chip On Your Shoulder

I'm sorry I was so horribly evil when I cut the last chapter off... oops. I know, that one was low. Well, the more you review, the faster I update! I'll keep it brief so you know what happened faster.

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Glinda had promptly collapsed after finishing the spell. She woke up without really remembering the events of the previous night, so her scream was rather justified. "Elphie!"

Elphaba winced, blinking. "Yes, Glinda?"

"You're... you're alright! You are, aren't you?"

Indeed, she was. Weeks of not being able to keep food down had left her thin and not being able to go outside much had left her pale, but Elphaba was much better than before. She behaved as if this weren't significant- until Galinda had awoken, and woke Boq and Fiyero up with her scream, she had been calmly making a pot of coffee. "I would hope I'm alright. It's either that or your spell killed us all." She paused, then added, "Coffee?"

The men woke slower than Glinda did, but Fiyero was on his feet within a few seconds, coming to stand beside Elphaba. "Fae? You really feel OK?"

She rolled her eyes, handing him the coffee pot as she reached in the cabinet to find cups. "Yes. Boq, you're awake enough to hear me say I'm alright? Or do we need to have this conversation a third time?"

At that they were all rather satisfied that she felt OK- the snarkier Elphaba was, the better she felt. She had been growing painfully mushy when she had been confined to her bed. The reappearance of her attitude was a comfort to them all, and a good boost to Glinda's self-esteem. "You mean I did it?" She smiled a little, with growing hope.

Elphaba rolled her eyes, but there was real gratitude there. "You did it, Lin, you helped me when I couldn't help myself. Now, do you want to help me with breakfast?"

So Glinda helped her best friend with the routine task of making breakfast, shooing the boys away so they could talk. Fiyero tried to linger, "But-"

"I promise I feel fine. I've been stuck in that bed way too long. Please don't fuss over me." She leaned up to kiss him, then nudged both him and Boq out the door. "Really, am I going to spend the rest of my life telling people I'm fine?"

Glinda considered and said, "No. Eventually you won't be fine anymore- then you'll be dead."

"I didn't know you had a morbid bone in your body, but apparently you do. Congratulations." She rummaged around in the ice box until she found a bottle of milk. She was quiet for a minute until she added, "Now what?"

"What do you mean, now what? Now you're OK, we go back to our lives- improved by the fact that now I know you aren't dead!" She flicked water at Elphaba from the sink, and laughed, "I can't believe I actually believed water would kill you! So many times we got caught out in the rain, so many times you hogged the bathroom in our dorm!"

"I didn't hog the bathroom, you did!" She flipped more water at Glinda.

She scowled. "Then how come I never had any hot water?"

Elphaba shrugged. "Now my fault I woke up first. If you got up before me, you wouldn't run out of hot water."

"So you admit to using up the hot water!"

"I said no such thing... But seriously now, what happens next?" She sat down in one of the two chairs next to the table that made up the 'dining room'. "Morrible."

Glinda sat in the seat opposite her. "I thought you didn't want to go after her." Glinda felt more and more nervous. "Elphie, please."

"I didn't want you all to leave again- I was afraid I would die and not see you all. It was me being selfish. That doesn't mean I think she doesn't need to be taken care of. If she could hurt me, she can hurt someone else. I can't let that happen."

Glinda was slightly horrified, mostly because she agreed with Elphaba. Morrible could not simply be forgotten about. And worse, she hadn't been properly dealt with before, nothing would have happened at all- if Glinda had had the strength to do something truly difficult, Elphaba never would've been hurt. And properly dealing with Morrible would mean doing something more than locking her up...

Could've, would've, should've. Did it never end? "Fiyero won't like it." Elphaba rolled her eyes. "He won't want you to exert yourself. And maybe you shouldn't!" Glinda was chicken, and she would've admitted it if someone asked her. "Your recovery."

"What recovery? You said yourself the only thing that was wrong with me was the spell, curse, whatever. You removed it, I feel fine now." She got back up, went back to fixing breakfast.

"But maybe you should take it slow?" She was grasping at straws.

"You're afraid something will happen if we confront her."

Glinda didn't respond at first. It was childish, but she didn't want to tell Elphaba she was right. Instead she said, "Alright or not, Fiyero still won't like it. He'll insist you stay home."

"Fiyero is over protective of me, and is still mighty brainless, Scarecrow or not. He might put up a fight, but I'll win. He knows I'll ultimately do what I want. It's easier on the both of us when he just gives in."

"Why do you always have to be right?"

"Oh, I'm usually not." She handed Glinda a bowl and a spoon, telling her to stir. "I'm just horribly stubborn." She cocked her head to the side, and added, "And I'm a Witch. I can sometimes make myself correct with force."

"I'm a Witch, too."

"But I'm stronger-willed than you." They glared at each other for a moment, as if to understate that point.

Eventually, Glinda looked away. "Fine, you already know your right. We'll leave soon, probably after we eat." But she pouted, knowing that something ugly was going to happen. It had to.


	19. I See A River

This is the last chapter of this story: meep. I will, however be posting an epilogue in the next couple of days. Oddly, this chapter doesn't go exactly how I imagined, but I think the few subtle changed I made greatly improved it. Review, and I'll try to get the epilogue up as soon as possible.

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In the end, it was Glinda who found the older woman in hiding in the woods, Morrible. It was late at night and the clouds hid most of the stars as well as the moon. She was panicking on the inside, knowing that whatever was about to happen would not be pleasant.

"Madame, it's good to see me, isn't it?" Glinda said, her voice colder than she could recall hearing it.

Morrible was shocked to see her, but didn't show any anxiety. Instead she kept her aloof demeanor, as if she were the Lady of a wealthy estate, not a woman alone in the woods, a fugitive. "Glinda, dear. How are you? So alone, out in the middle of the woods. None of your guards around, none of your friends. Surely Miss Elphaba has perished by now... she was fading quickly, wasn't she?"

Glinda didn't respond, Morrible assuming her silence was due to intense grief.

"And poor Fiyero, he loved her so. He's probably beside himself with grief. He was so devoted to her, much more than he ever was to you. That we could all see. He left you the night of the ball celebrating your engagement, didn't he? I'd imagine he's holding vigil over her corpse in that little hovel of a cottage they lived in?"

Glinda didn't take the bait. "Actually, Madame, he's right here." She gestured to her left. Fiyero and Boq took their cue to step out of the shadows.

"And he's certainty not grieving." Another voice added. Morrible looked over with horror. Elphaba had used a spell to immobilize Morrible before anyone else had a chance to say a word.

"How are you... you should be dead by now."

"I should, a couple times over. Yet I'm not. Pity, no?" She smiled, not nicely. "Or maybe I am back from the dead, back to haunt the one responsible for my murder."

Morrible tried to struggle against her magical bonds, but it was to no use. "What? Cade isn't here to free you now," said Glinda, not letting the anxiety she felt flood her voice. She didn't want Morrible to see how terribly frightened she was. Luckily, years of hiding her true feelings had enabled her to mask everything that she felt, especially fear.

Morrible ignored the others, instead staring at Glinda. "What will Glinda the Good do now? Trap me in a pretty pink bubble? Lock me back in my cell?" She looked over. "Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. You know, dearie, cats only have nine lives. How many have you used up now? Defying the Wizard, defying death. You always did do the thankless, dirty work, didn't you? For the greater good, right? Save others like pretty Glinda from having to deal with things. How noble. You'll kill me, won't you? You have yourself built up as good and holier than thou. But you're ready to kill."

"I have never killed anyone."

"What about the ones hurt by your flock of familiars? The wolves, the Monkeys? What did you plan to do to the little girl, Dorothy? Had she not soaked you to the bone first? Were you going to kill her in retribution for the death of your sister?"

"Leave Nessarose out of this. That wasn't Dorothy's fault, I can understand that now. And I can see it wasn't Glinda's either. As for those killed by my "familiars"... well, had I not been mad with grief, I probably would've been able to see what they were doing was wrong. Those deaths are just as much your fault as they are mine- if you had never ostracized me, I would have had no cause to allow their deaths." Elphaba's words were strong, but at the mention of Nessarose, some of her resolve had faded. Fiyero had quickly stepped to her side, a hand resting on her back.

Elphaba had not had the training in holding her emotions under lock and key that Glinda had had, and Morrible could see the crack in Elphaba's facade. She capitalized on that. "So it will be you to kill me now? Or your lover, punishing me for nearly killing you. Or Boq, tired of hiding in the shadows?"

"No," Glinda spoke up. "None of us are going to kill you. We're just going to make sure you can never hurt anyone again. I'm going to do what I should've done a year ago, when I sent the Wizard away. I made a mistake in thinking simply imprisoning you would keep you from hurting anyone else, and I won't make that mistake twice."

"But you won't be killing me?" Morrible asked.

"No. I'll simply be helping your outside reflect your true nature on the inside." She muttered something under her breath that Morrible couldn't hear, didn't understand until it was too late. By then a carp laid on the forest floor, nearly suffocating on the ground. Morrible, who had always resembled an ornate goldfish was gone.

Before she could suffocate, Boq chucked the fish into the stream that ran through the forest. A mostly harmless brown bear could be seen fishing down stream. The four of them stood there for a long minute, Glinda breaking the silence. "Let's go home?"

Elphaba nodded, reaching for her best friend's hand. "Let's go home."


	20. Epilouge: For Good

Everyone rose at once when she appeared. I sneak a peek at Fiyero, standing near me: he's grinning ear to ear. I smile. This was perfect. I look back over at Elphaba. I'd actually gotten her into a white gown for her wedding. She hadn't put up too much of a fight, simply requesting that the dress be simple, and not over the top. I had quickly agreed to it, pleased to have her in a traditional white dress.

It was very flowing with cap-sleeves. It cinched at her thin waist and fluttered delicately to her ankles. It was very simple, and would've been plain had she herself not been so radiant. She had utterly refused to wear any make-up, and I could see that that had been a good choice, even though I had put up a fight earlier. She wasn't veiled, instead with small white flowers pinned in her dark hair. More white flowers made up the bouquet in her hands.

The Animals that were the guests idolized her. She was their savior, their hero. They wanted nothing more than her health, safety and happiness. I spotted Valia with Doctor Dillamond. My old professor still did not have full control of his speech, but he improved every day. He had recognized me, calling me Glinda.

Elphaba, normally so concerned with others wasn't paying any attention to the guests who had come to wish her well. No, her eyes were set on Fiyero, wearing a crisp dark suit. And his hadn't left her since she'd appeared. For a horrible moment, she nearly tripped, but she caught herself, laughing lightly.

She reached the altar, handing me her flowers. She'd given me free reign over my dress, telling me to wear whatever I wanted. I was her only bridesmaid, and had to match no one. I'd been tempted with a few more extravagant ideas, but had settled on a lavender dress. I didn't pay any attention to the ceremony. It felt silly to actually hear the vows. Elphaba and Fiyero already belonged to each other. This was a formality. There was an almost audible "finally" when the preacher announced them man and wife and they kissed.

I would leave for the Emerald City the next morning. I had no idea how my extended absence had been explained- they were bound to have noticed me missing by now. I didn't care much. Everyone who mattered knew where I had been, hadn't worried. It was almost exhilarating to realize I could run off without having anyone who could reprimand me.

I stepped to the side and watched as the ceremony turned into the reception. I watched my closest friends dance together. Fiyero had always been a good dancer, and we were all thankful for that- it better prepared him for Elphaba's clumsiness. She could be so graceful when she was on the back of a broom, so artful in her words. But she was still a gawky klutz when push came to shove. She didn't care though, and it was clear he didn't even mind it when she stepped on his feet. She laughed and smiled, he whispered something to her. She laid her head against her shoulder. The two of them were off in their own little bubble, and they had a right to be.

I slid into one of the chairs, ignored by the others. I ruled Oz, but here it was Elphaba who was adored by everyone. I was simply her best friend, not the beautiful Good Witch. It was refreshing, to say the least. I liked that it gave me a new identity- I didn't have to glitter and sparkle through my entire existence. Some people hurt, some people suffered. But I could help where I could, and by doing more than simply smiling at people.

Somehow, that was much more satisfying than being Glinda the Good.


End file.
